The Word Made Fresh
1On the first day of the week while it was still dark early in the morning, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been removed, 2so she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him.”
3Peter and the other disciple immediately left to go to the tomb. 4They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look inside, and saw the linen wraps lying there, but didn’t go in. 6Simon Peter was right behind him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wraps lying there 7and, rolled up by itself, the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. 8The other disciple then followed him in and saw these things and believed, 9but they did not yet understand the scripture that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10They turned then, and went back to their homes.
11Mary remained, however, weeping outside. She bent over to look inside the tomb, 12and saw two angels sitting where the body of Jesus had been laid, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said, “Why are you weeping, woman?”
She told them, “They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” 14Then she turned, and saw Jesus standing behind her, but didn’t recognize him.
15Jesus said, “Why are you weeping, woman? Who are you looking for?”
Taking him to be the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have moved his body, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
16Jesus said, “Mary!”
She turned toward him, and said in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17“Don’t hold on to me,” he said, “because I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
18Then Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she repeated to them what he had said to her.
19Later in the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the disciples were together in a house with the doors locked in fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20Then he showed them his hands and his side, and they rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you,” and added, “The Father has sent me, and in the same way I am sending you.” 22Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you don’t forgive them, their sins remain.”
24Thomas, who was called Didymus and was one of the twelve, was not with then when Jesus appeared. 25The others told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said, “I can’t believe you unless I see and touch the nail wounds in his hands and touch his wounded side.”
26A week later his disciples were together again in the same house, and Thomas was there. The doors were closed, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he told Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands, and reach out and touch my side. Don’t doubt. Believe!”
28“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
29Jesus said, “So, you believe because you have seen me? Those who come to believe without having seen me are truly blessed.”
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, signs which are not recorded in this book. 31But these signs are reported here so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and if you believe you will be given life in his name.
Commentary
1-10: Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by “the other Mary” (Matthew 28:1), Mark mentions these two and includes Salome as well (Mark 16:1), and Luke has Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna and “the other women with them” (Luke 24:10), but John’s version of the Easter story has this very personal meeting between Jesus and Mary Magdalene alone. Curiously, John does not mention the stone sealing the tomb until the moment when Mary Magdalene sees that it has been removed. Also, unlike the other gospels, Mary runs and tells only Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved. We note that in her report to them she says, “we” do not know where they have laid him,” indicating that perhaps she was not alone after all. Peter and the other disciple run to the tomb, the other disciple outrunning Peter and arriving first. They both go into the tomb and find the burial cloths, but do not connect the dots between what Jesus told them and what they are witnessing, and leave without realizing what has happened.
11-18: Mary Magdalene is there alone again, but now when she looks in the tomb she sees two angels. Their purpose is unexplained. They ask why she’s crying, but offer no information. She sees Jesus standing outside with her and, thinking he is the keeper of the garden, asks him where they have taken the body (the disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus – Luke 24:13ff – also didn’t recognize him, leading scholars to speculate that Jesus was somewhat changed in appearance after his resurrection). He calls her name, and she immediately recognizes him. He tells her not to take hold of him, and instructs her to tell his “brothers” that he is ascending to their God and Father. She goes to them — apparently they are all together by now — and gives them a report.
19-23: It is now Sunday evening, and the disciples are all together behind closed and locked doors. We are told at this point that they fear they will be persecuted now that Jesus is gone. Jesus is suddenly inexplicably there. He gives them the Holy Spirit (the Advocate/Helper he told them about only days before). In Luke’s narrative the Holy Spirit is given as a general outpouring described in Acts 2, but John’s understanding is that Jesus directly bestowed the Spirit upon them, although I doubt we can make too much of the differences here. As we continue through the New Testament we will discover that the Holy Spirit turns out to be very difficult to pin down.
24-25: Thomas was absent on the occasion, however, and refuses to believe that they have actually seen Jesus.
26-29: Despite his doubt, though, Thomas hangs around and is still there a week later when Jesus appears again. (By the way, the fact that Jesus appears to them on two consecutive Sundays is one reason Christians gradually abandoned Saturday as their primary holy day and embraced Sunday as the standard weekly day of worship.) The doors are shut, says John, but I doubt we should interpret the comment as evidence that Jesus is passing through solid walls. I think it simply means that they are still in hiding a week later. Jesus makes a point of convincing Thomas, and then sends a clear message to those who would believe in succeeding generations – and so, we are blessed!
30-31: In what may well be the original ending to John’s gospel, we are told the story we are reading is just a brief and incomplete sampling of all Jesus did.
Takeaway
John’s account may make us wonder if Jesus is of the habit of coming into our lives from time to time without our knowing who he is. That is an intriguing thought, is it not?